Welsh Liberal Democrats Councillor for Cwmbwrla Ward, City and County of Swansea - Visit my main website at www.peterblack.wales

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Misleading and unwarranted

Today's Western Mail reports that Liberal Democrat-led Swansea Council is defending its social services staff over what it calls unwarranted attacks in election leaflets.

The council’s cabinet member for social services Wendy Fitzgerald is particularly concerned at claims the department has gone from being the best to “the worst” in Wales. She said it was deplorable social services in Swansea were being used as a “political football”.

Wendy is in fact not a Welsh Liberal Democrat but an independent Councillor. Nevertheless, her assessment of Labour's stance on this issue is right. She said: “There are some very worrying statements appearing in Labour and Conservative leaflets and one of the most alarming is the claim that social services in Swansea have gone from being the best in Wales to the worst. Nothing could be further from the truth. There have indeed been some problems in specific areas of children’s services and these are being robustly addressed.

“In adult services, however, we remain among the better performing councils in Wales.

“Thus, to denigrate an entire department that operates under considerable pressure, where staff morale is often fragile, specifically for election gain, is deplorable.

“It’s astounding that the Labour Party still seem to assume that they are the only party interested in the most vulnerable people in society and are arrogant enough to suggest that the consequence of their losing control of the council in 2004 has been a decline in social services.”

These criticisms have also been repeated in the chamber here in the Assembly by Labour AMs who, like their colleagues in Swansea, seem to have no compunction about exaggerating the situation so as to gain political advantage from the tragic death of a child. Mistakes were made and not just by the Council but Swansea's Social Services remains in good health and amongst one of the best in Wales.

I haven't read a single article in which Labour or Plaid spokespeople have attacked the performance of Swansea's social services staff. Perhaps you can provide an example. I rather think it is the Lib Dems who are doing a bit of diversionary shroud-waving in this instance.

The Swansea Labour Party are running so scared of the County Elections this Thursday that they took out a FULL PAGE ELECTION ADVERT in the "South Wales Evening Post" today that was all negative rubbishing the other parties - especially the Lib Dems and Independendents (they only took a small swipe at their PLC Coalition buddies in Plaid Cymru and the Tories - hint of a future PLC Coalition?). What did this Full Page Advert cost the Grass Roots Labour members? Can anyone tell us, to tell them?

Are you actually expecting anything else from the likes of the Western Snail? The Glamorgan Gazette has gone very pro-labour over the past couple of months.

Onto other matters, it may interest readers of your Blog that Llynfi Labour are now saying that its the Lib Dems fault that our Post Offices are closing.

They are also blaming us (Lib Dems) for the vandalism in the Carpark in Llynfi Road; since Councillor Buttle lives 50 yards from said carpark why hasn't he done anything about it?

They are also blaming us (the Loony Liberals) for crime, but this is a function of the Labour run Home Office not local government. if the Labour Councillors have got any concerns over law and order they should address Cllr Derek Vaughen (before he goes off to Brussels).

I certainly feel that we should gather all the Crap that labour in their desperation have put out during this campaign so the public can see for themselves what a bunch of toad-lickers labour are!

Shambo, you have obviously not been reading the right papers. They are all over the South Wales Evening Post, local election leaflets and elsewhere accusing social services of being the worst in Wales, which is patently not true. That is a clear attack on staff and slanders them.

Green Man, I believe a full page in the Evening Post costs about £2,500.

Hi there "Anonymous" Re:- Your description of Labour as 'Toad Lickers'. I presume you know where that saying comes from . If you pick up a toad it exudes a nasty liquid into the mouth of a would be predator e.g. fox or jackal. In some countries the nasty liquid is hallucigenic and Low Life Drug Addicts are known to lick Toads' bottoms to take in the nasty liquids that give them a "fix"! Yeh, sounds like nasty Welsh Labour Politicians not Hippies!

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